Is patriotism a form of racism?

My latest piece includes a summary of my lecture on patriotism at University and it also comes to a decision as to whether patriotism is a form of racism or not.

We began by studying the definition of patriotism before looking at examples of patriotism. We looked at the issue of the blue passport, which can be interpreted as a symbol of patriotism[1]. Then we concluded that there is likely to be a generational gap for patriotism[2]. The thesis is; the older you become, the more likely you are to be patriotic. After that, we looked at how patriotism can be used as a political tool, for example parliament going to war requires us to be patriotic.

Then, the case was put forward that patriotism and nationalism are terms that can be used interchangeably, before it was argued that terms such as racism and xenophobia are compatible with patriotism.

We considered how to contemplate whether you as an individual are patriotic or not. This can be achieved by looking at Universalism and Communitarianism. If you are a Communitarian, then you are also likely to be a patriot.

As we approached the topic of patriotism from an academic perspective, we looked at the work of Kelner, Gomberg, Dixon and MacIntyre.

One would argue that in order to conclude whether we should be patriotic or not, logically one must understand the definition of patriotism. Stephen Nathanson defined patriotism as involving special affection for one’s own country, a sense of personal identification with the country and special concern for the well-being of the country[3].There is often a lot of bewilderment about the difference between patriotism and nationalism[4]. Some use the words interchangeably, but the two are different. Nationalism is loyalty to one’s country, whereas patriotism is pride of one’s country[5]. Another difference is the degree of rationality. The way nationalism could be interpreted is that you are loyal to your country regardless of how the country operates. It could potentially be viewed as being ‘blindly loyal’. Patriotism on the other hand, requires one to be rational. It requires the individual to consider the values of the country as well as its history, values and beliefs[6]. Patriotism and nationalism are inherently different.

It is certainly by no means incoherent to link globalization to patriotism. “Globalization, it could be argued has rendered the independent nation, which has led to national sovereignty becoming increasingly obsolete”[7]. A perfect example of this is the setup of the European Union. Deterritorialization is an innate feature of globalization[8] and many people do not like the idea of countries and cultures becoming increasingly similar as it naturally carries the risk of countries losing their national identity[9]. A lot of people believe in the notion of independence as well as sovereignty and globalization is viewed as being incompatible with these notions.

Albert Einstein once famously said “he hated all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism”[10]. There are a lot of people that avoid identifying themselves with patriotism because of the social stigma. A lot of academics such as

Paul Gomberg view patriotism as a form a racism[11]. The topic of patriotism within the UK has probably never been so talked about given the outcome of the EU Referendum[12]. A lot of people claim that the reason Britain voted for Brexit is because of immigration[13]. Whilst this is not an inaccurate claim, some have gone further on to claim that Brexit is a symbol of patriotism and to some extent racism[14]. It is claimed that the ‘Brexiteers’ do not like the idea of multiculturalism and being a multi-ethnic society - hence why Britain voted the way that it did.

Being a British citizen and patriot does not inherently mean you hold racist views – quite the opposite infact. It means you are proud for what the country does for its citizens – free education up until eighteen, quality healthcare etc. It requires accepting British beliefs and values. It means acknowledging that Britain is multicultural and multi-ethnic. Being a nationalist on the other hand, my involve a level of disapproval, but patriotism is not nationalism.

There were many different reasons as to why Britain voted to leave the EU. Immigration was one reason[15], but this is not an issue of race. Britain is multi-ethnic and voting to control immigration does not hinder a specific race of people[16]. One could even argue that the EU inadvertently disadvantages some races because it favours immigration for those within the EU as opposed to those outside of the EU[17].

In addition, patriotism provides identity as well as a sense of pride. You get this sense during the Commonwealth Games[18] (the Commonwealth is an intrinsic part of Britain) and other international sporting events such as the Olympics.

The topic of patriotism will always be heavily debated - whilst one can understand one’s reasons for not being patriotic, calling a patriot racist is a form of scapegoating and it is simply inaccurate. In fact you could go as far as saying that we should be patriotic.

[1] David Charter, What has the EU ever done for us? (London: Biteback Publishing Ltd, 2017), p. 140.

[2] Peter Kellner, Britain’s Generation Gap (2017) <http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/73327> [accessed 20 April 2018].

[3] Igor Primoratz, Patriotism (2017) <https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/patriotism/#WhaPat> [accessed 20 April 2018].

[4] R. B. Galker, What is the difference, if any, between nationalism and patriotism? (2016) <https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-if-any-between-nationalism-and-patriotism> [accessed 20 April 2018].

[5] Andrea Baumeister, Patriotism (2018) <https://www.britannica.com/topic/patriotism-sociology> [accessed 20 April 2018].

[6] Eric J. Evans, The Forging of the modern state - early industrial Britain, 3rd edn (London: Pearson Education, 2001), p. 526.

[7] Brian Coxall, Lynton Robins and Robert Leach, Contemporary British politics, ed. by Curran Publishing Services, 4th edn (Norwich: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), p. 67.

[8] Nikos Papastergiadis, The Turbulence of Migration: Globalization, Deterritorialization and Hybridity (Frome: Marston Books Services Limited, 2000), p. 116.

[9] Frank Lechner, Globalization issues (2000) <http://sociology.emory.edu/faculty/globalization/issues04.html> [accessed 20 April 2018].

[10] Steve Gillman, 10 Unavoidable Arguments Against Patriotism (2014) <https://listverse.com/2014/03/27/10-unavoidable-arguments-against-patriotism/> [accessed 20 April 2018].

[11] Paul Gomberg, '', Patriotism is Like Racism, 101.1, (1990), (p. 144).

[12] BBC, EU Referendum Results (2016) <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/eu_referendum/results> [accessed 20 April 2018].

[13]Tim Marshall, Prisoners of Geography (London: Elliot and Thompson Ltd, 2015), p. 106-107.

[14] Josh Gabbatiss, Brexit strongly linked to xenophobia, scientists conclude (2017) <https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/brexit-prejudice-scientists-link-foreigners-immigrants-racism-xenophobia-leave-eu-a8078586.html> [accessed 20 April 2018].

[15] Tim Benson, Britain's Best Political Cartoons (London: Penguin Random House UK, 2017), p. 21.

[16] Britain needs to talk about the R-word: racism, dir. by Anushka Asthana (The Guardian, 2016).

[17] Nicolaie Iancu and Elena-Ana Nechita, 'DEBATES AND CONTROVERSIES ON EUROPEAN MIGRATION POLICIES ', 1, (2012), (p. 3).

[18] The State of Queensland 2018 Queensland Government, Games Benefits (2018) <https://www.embracing2018.com/games-benefits> [accessed 20 April 2018].